142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

311533
Grassroots Advocacy: A structural intervention for vulnerable populations

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 10:50 AM - 11:10 AM

Shaquita Borden, MPH, CHES , Women With a Vision, New Orleans, LA
LGBT populations and Lesbian women in particular experience increased substance use and a myriad of other health disparities related to their sexuality. The socio structural factors that propagate widespread discrimination against these populations contribute to such disparities. As a result, sexual minority and racial minority groups are subject to rabid criminalization and over policing.

One of the U.S.’s most significant efforts to police its citizens is the failed drug war. African American Lesbian women face increased incarceration, given targeted surveillance in African American communities and discriminatory policing of LGBT populations resulting from America’s drug war.

Transgender, African American women also face the consequences of criminalizing sexuality, as they are often arrested and jailed based on the assumption that they are involved in sex work.

As the state with the highest incarceration rates in the world, Louisianans are presented with a unique set of challenges in trying to shift conversations and practice to health modalities instead of carceral solutions. Ongoing work housed at Women With a Vision in New Orleans, seeks to provide specific solutions to the health problems related to mass incarceration among Lesbian and Trans* women.

Vulnerable populations often hold the solutions to their own health problems but are excluded from discussions to develop and disseminate appropriate modalities. Grassroots advocacy is essential to encourage the inclusion of vulnerable populations and can be employed widely to inform changes in the current trend toward mass incarceration over health strategies.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Identify two trends that contribute to the criminalization of vulnerable populations. Describe the two methods useful in engaging vulnerable populations.

Keyword(s): Community-Based Health, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked directly with the populations listed to implement programming related to the topic discussed.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.